The Battle of Britain Memorial - Embankment London
Posted by: 
Norfolk12
N 51° 30.216 W 000° 07.386
30U E 699658 N 5709754
Quick Description: The memorial was unveiled by H.R.H Prince Charles in September 2005, it is Dedicated to the 2,936 Airmen who fought the Battle of Britain in 1940. This is on the Victoria Embankment in London.
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/5/2009 7:55:28 AM
Waymark Code: WM7KJH
Views: 1
Long Description:The Memorial is on part of a Very large sidewalk alongside
the
River Thames, overlooked by ancient London landmarks....& the
new London Eye.....crowded with tourists & commuters...&
pigeons.....!!
details from Wikipedia :
"Battle of Britain Monument in London is a sculpture on the
Victoria Embankment overlooking the River Thames in central London,
England which pays tribute to those who took part in the Battle of
Britain during World War II.
It was unveiled on 18 September 2005, the 65th anniversary of
the Battle, by His Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and Her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall in the presence of many of
the surviving airmen known collectively as "The Few", following the
Royal Air Force Service of Thanksgiving and Rededication on Battle
of Britain Sunday.
This service is an annual event, taking place annually since 1943;
the first service took place in St Paul's Cathedral and since has
taken place in Westminster Abbey.
The monument was conceived by Bill Bond, founder of the Battle
of Britain Historical Society, who was later awarded the MBE for
his services to heritage. He was solely responsible for negotiating
with the City of Westminster to secure the site of the monument, as
well as appointing Donald Insall Associates as architects of the
project. He also formed the fund-raising committee after raising
over £250,000 through an appeal via the Daily Mail.
The budget was £1.74 million which was funded in the main by
private donations. Bill Bond appointed Lord Tebbit as chairman of
the fundraising committee.
The monument utilises a panelled granite structure 25 metres
long which was originally designed as a smoke outlet for
underground trains when they were powered by steam engines. A
walkway was cut obliquely through the middle of the structure, and
is lined with panels of high relief sculpture in bronze depicting
scenes from the Battle of Britain.
The centrepiece is an approximately life sized sculpture of airmen
scrambling for their aircraft during the battle. The outside of the
monument is lined with bronze plaques listing all the airmen who
took part in the Battle on the Allied side.
The sculptor of the monument is Paul Day and the architects are
Donald Insall Associates. The statue was cast by Morris Singer Ltd,
which is the oldest established fine art foundry in the world and
has cast many prominent statues and sculptures in London and around
the world, including the lions and fountains in Trafalgar
Square."
The names of the Airmen are listed under the Country of
Origin
see link for more info.
www.bbm.org.uk/weblinks.htm
Sir Winston Churchill's
famous quote is inscribed along the base of the Monument
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed
by so many to so few."